What you need to look for in a reporting & BI solution

With a high-quality reporting and Business Intelligence tool you can make a lot of money. Because access to critical business information at the right moment enables you to take the best decisions for your organization. The number of available reporting and BI tools is enormous. Pay attention to at least the following principles, then you know you're always good.

Usability is crucial

You probably have some whizzkid in your organization who knows all about databases and data structures. But that does not reflect the knowledge of the average user of the software. Reporting & BI software is mostly used by management and you want to quickly and easily create powerful management reports. So, usability of the application is of crucial importance. The more complicated the tool is, the less likely it is you will use it.

Information must be up-to-date and correct

This might seem obvious, but many reporting tools do not succeed in providing up-to-date and correct user information. It is very important though, because nobody wants to base important decisions on outdated or incorrect information. Make sure you are well informed about how reports are generated and which data you are looking at. And it is important that you can easily make adjustments to the report or refresh it.

Insight into the KPIs that are important to YOU

When managing your organization, you are particularly interested in the Key Performance Indicators. You want the ability to zoom in on detail level, but your decisions are based on the 'big numbers'. It is important that the KPIs provided by your reporting and BI tool are developed for the industry in which your organization operates, and - more specifically – fit the needs of your organization. No general parameters, but precisely those figures that are relevant to you.

So go for management information with a push of a button, which is always correct and fits your specific needs! Confront potential suppliers/partners with these requirements and you will quickly come to a shortlist.

As a Product Owner, Joan Gaastra is in the driver's seat at Dysel. He decides which functionalities are developed and how they are prioritized.